Pieces of a Family
by hopehalliwell3
Summary: To protect and save her family, Hermione removed herself from their lives completely. But she forgot about her uncle who lives in America. They're different pieces of a family, can they bring themselves together?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

The house was dark with overgrown weeds littering the front. Confusion and worry swept through Clint Barton's mind as he sat in his car outside the home. No matter how hard he tried to think, he could not ever remember his sister or brother-in-law mention that they were going on an extended vacation. Although they didn't have as much contact as they might have before due to the nature of his career choice, their close childhood meant that they kept in touch and were at the very least sure to discuss any major events in their lives. He attended their wedding and they attended his, and they were present at the birth of each couples children.

This is what caused Clint so much worry. He had not heard from his family, and his attempts for contact had yielded no results. It was then that he flew to his sister's home only to find the warm and loving home vacant and dark with nothing to show that any family had lived there. Cautiously he carefully observed the quiet neighborhood before exiting the car. He quickly approached the home and snuck inside through a side window.

Furniture still occupied the home, though a sheet had been thrown over them to protect them from the thin layer of dust that had already settled. Quietly, Clint went down the hall to where the master bedroom was. Inside showed that though the furniture also remained, there were no clothes or personal affects within the room. A slight panic gripped his heart. Exiting the room he swiftly ran upstairs to check his niece's bedroom.

There he found her room to be completely different. It did not look like a room that his niece would have ever lived in. Gone were the overstuffed bookshelves and the soft pink walls that he had helped paint with his brother-in-law when they found out the baby was a girl. Instead the room looked like an office. A layer of dust also covered the furniture in this room too.

After checking the rest of the home, he discovered that any personal affects had been removed., including all pictures and anything that might have had any great significance to the family were gone. And yet, despite the home looking as though no one had lived there in some time, nor that anyone would be living there anytime soon, it was not for sale.

Clint left the home, more confused and worried than when he first went in. Upon returning to his car he made a few phone calls the friends of the family for any clues as to what had happened or where they might have gone. Their response only baffled him more. None of them knew where they might have gone, and only that their daughter, had told them that they had a family emergency and would be going out of town to attend to. Returning to his hotel for the night, Clint used his SHIELD contacts and resources to see if he could determine what was going on. Hours later, surveillance footage showed his sister and brother-in-law happily boarding a plane. At first, that eased his worries. Surely if something were wrong they would not have looked so calm and excited if they were under duress. However upon review of their documents that were provided when they checked in for their flight, they were travelling under a different name. They traveled under the names Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and they were destined for Australia.

* * *

Hermione Granger was exhausted. Nursing a cup of tea in the quiet kitchen of the Burrow, she longed for sleep. The Battle of Hogwarts had been over a month ago. Since then, there had been countless funerals to attend, speeches of grief and victory to give, and many trials to attest and bear witness to.

And yet there was still more to do, and no time to waste or rest. Every night Hermione would climb into bed, thankful for a moment to finally breathe. Exhausted she would fall asleep quickly, but it was then the tremors would start. It always seemed to start with her hands. The slight tremors would quickly progress with more intensity until it would wake her from her slumber. The length of time from when the pain would then set in always varied. On this particular night it came quickly.

Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm the rising panic that had quickly begun to consume her. Her body twisted and contorted on itself as her muscles contracted. With the pain came the memories. Her hands gripped the sheets of her bed tightly as if to try to hold onto what little sanity was left. The pain crashed through her again, dragging her back to the manor. Bellatrix's frantic questions were just barely audible through the sound of her own screams. Hermione cried out in pain, she cried out in anger and fear. She begged for mercy, she begged for relief.

It was a soft meow that answered her prayers. Crookshanks was half-kneazle, which meant he was more in tune with his masters than most familiars were. Keeping his distance he continued to meow in order to break through the panic attack Hermione was experiencing. The bedroom slowly came back into focus as the walls of Malfoy Manor faded and the fear eased its grip on her heart. She grit her teeth as another wave of pain swept through her causing her back to arch up off the bed. Her mind, thankfully, remained intact this time. Her body, however, was forced to continue to endure the after-effects of torture.

When the pain had finally subsided enough and Hermione regained control of her body, she carefully left Percy's room and headed to the kitchen where she now sat, drinking her cup of tea. Around her, the house was silent. She hoped the other occupants of the home were able to rest through the night, but she knew they had cast silencing charms on their own rooms just as she had. Finishing off her tea, Hermione grabbed a blanket as she made her way outside.

She lay down on top of the blanket in the garden. Looking up at the night sky she was reminded of her parents. Sadness filled her heart as she remembered the last time she saw them. Just over a year ago she had told them of the events that were about to take place. They were worried and scared for their only daughter, and begged her to stay with them and leave the wizarding world behind. But as much as she cherished the comfort they provided she knew what was coming. She was the brightest witch of her age and a filthy mudblood. She was also Harry Potter's best friend. Death Eaters would come for her and her family regardless if she left or stayed.

Her parents didn't understand, they thought they could protect her. Hermione knew that despite her mother's uncanny ability for self-defense and her father's own previous military experience, this was a war they couldn't fight and hope to win. So Hermione did what she believed she had to do in order to both protect her parents and still aide Harry in the upcoming war. She looked her parents straight in the eye and told them she would stay with them.

Over the next two weeks, Hermione began her preparations. On the final night before she was scheduled to meet with the Weasleys, she lay down on a blanket between her parents as they looked up at the night sky in their own garden. She told them she loved them, and they told her they loved her too. That night as Helen and Troy Granger slept, Hermione removed herself from their lives. Gone was her bedroom, instead an office now took its place. Family photos were duplicated. The originals were carefully stowed with the rest of her belongings in her trunk. The duplicates were altered to show only a loving husband and wife.

As the sun began to rise, Hermione quietly made her way into her parents' room. As they slept peacefully, she pressed a soft kiss to each and told them again how much she loved them. Taking a step back, she prayed for both their safety and forgiveness. Then, with a determined yet broken heart, she raised her wand and whispered, "Obliviate."


	2. Chapter 2

As quietly as she could, Hermione returned to The Burrow. The sun was just beginning to rise so she put water on to boil for the morning tea and began to make breakfast for the rest of the occupants of the house. Mrs. Weasley soon joined her and together they set the table before sitting down with their tea.

"How are you doing, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I'm well, just a bit tired." Hermione responded.

Mrs. Weasley just nodded. There seemed to be a lingering tiredness that plagued all of them. No amount of sleep would cure this, only time.

The rest of the household soon joined them. Breakfast was filled with polite conversation, though it lacked the enthusiasm it previously had in the years before. It wasn't long before they began to go there separate ways, returning to their jobs and attempting to gain some semblance of the routine of normal life. Eventually all that was left was Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione.

"I'll clean the table and dishes, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione offered. Before Mrs. Weasley refuse Harry offered to help Hermione. Nodding, she agreed to the small break it offered her.

Together Harry and Hermione washed and dried the dishes. They did it the muggle way as they both found it to be calming.

"I'm going to find my parents." Hermione said softly.

Harry paused, his hand stilled on the dish he was washing. He started up again after a moment. When are we leaving?" He asked simply.

Hermione didn't answer right away so he put this dish down and turned to look at her. She was staring at him, eyes watering. Before he knew what was happening she had her arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

In response, he wrapped his arms around her and held her just as tightly as she held him. They hugged for a minute more before breaking apart and returning to the waiting dishes.

A week later found the two of them at the airport waiting in the terminal. Ron had chosen to stay behind, his grief at losing a brother still painful. Though they had yet to talk about it, his and Hermione's tentative relationship was on hold. Both had too much to deal with that prevented them from pursuing something more between them at this time.

"Do you know where your parents are living?" Harry asked, breaking through Hermione's thoughts.

"I have a general idea where they're at." She answered. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find them a home to move in due to time constraints, but we should be able to search for a dental practice in their name."

Harry just nodded his head. He felt guilty that he hadn't given Hermione's family much thought up to this point. He knew that she had sent them away with no memories, but other than that knowledge he knew nothing. Times like this made him wonder if he also had the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Soon it was time to board. They had seats in first class as both were not comfortable sitting closely packed with strangers. Their recent experiences made it difficult to remain calm especially with a flight as long as this one. They each settled into their seats and and chatted a bit more before falling asleep. Neither had took notice of another passenger who had been discretely watching them since they had arrived at the airport.

*****PoaF******

Clint Barton sat at an outside table at a coffee shop, watching the dental office across the street. He had been at this coffee shop for almost two hours. The Wilkins' credit card statements show this place as a frequented establishment. Knowing how much his sister and brother-in-law were fond of routine, he chose to wait here to run into one of them. This plan seemed to have worked perfectly well half an hour ago when Troy, or Wendell as he was known here, walked in to get a quick morning coffee for him and his wife.

However, as Clint stood up to greet Troy Granger the two made eye contact for a fleeting moment before Troy continued on his way to place his order. Clint, however, had immediately froze. His work with SHIELD had given him plenty of experience to be able to judge a situation from a single glance. He had already been worried that they were in danger, maybe somehow related to his career of choice, and that danger was significant enough to require a change of names and continent. That one glance though had changed the game. That one fleeting glance showed no recognition of who Clint was, instead to Troy Granger, Clint was just another stranger in a coffee shop.

Abruptly, Clint immediately stepped outside and made a quick phone call to Natasha and explained the situation as best as he currently understood it. She in turn told him that she hadn't yet found his niece, but through some of her contacts she had discovered that within the the past year a Hermione Granger had been listed as a criminal and labeled as Undersirable #2. Her crimes were listed as theft and known association with Undersirable #1. There wasn't much more information currently as her contact refused to give more details especially in concern to what was stolen. He had agreed to send Natasha a copy of the photo that was on the wanted poster. This way Clint would be able to use this to identify if this was indeed his niece.

He continued to watch the dentist office across the street before finally crossing over. Upon entering he saw a medium sized waiting room with a few patients waiting inside. He spoke with the receptionist about scheduling an appointment. He asked many questions trying to stall in hopes that he might see his sister.

"…finish by 3 o'clock for a conference call." Clint looked up at hearing the familiar female voice. He could just see his sister in the hallway talking to an unseen employee. "Is that Dr. Wilkins?" He asked a little bit louder than the volume he had been previously talking at. Dr. Wilkins looked over at the sound of her name, taking a double look when seeing the speaker. She excused herself from the other individual before walking over with a contemplative look on her face.

"I am Dr. Wilkins, well one of them at least." She said with a laugh.

Clint laughed with her and said "I'm just looking to find a good dentist in the area and have just scheduled an appointment to see you later this week."

"This is the place to be, though I may be a bit biased in that opinion. But my husband and I would love to be a part of your oral care." She said, putting on her best welcoming smile.

"Thank you." He replied. "I look forward to seeing you later on then." Clint then turned to leave even more worried than when he came in when he heard her call out to him and turned to look back

"Sir?" She hesitated for a second before continuing. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

Clint's searched her face for a moment before answering. He shook his head and answered, "I think I may just have one of those faces." He gave a small smile and a wave before turning and walking out the door.

Once returning to his hotel, Clint called his wife. This bizarre turn of events had shaken him quite a bit and caused him to worry for his own wife and children. Her answering voice and calming words helped him regain some sense of stability, but his mind still ran full of questions. How could someone not remember their own family? Their own flesh and blood? It's not as if they were distant cousins, they were siblings raised under the same roof. He now regretted that it had been some time since he last saw Helen. They hadn't seen as much of each other due to living in different countries and the different lifestyle career choices and the guilt clawed at his heart as he wondered if there was anything he could have done to prevent this.

Clint also had questions as to why his niece still retained her birth name though Helen and Troy were now Monica and Wendell. Also, was Hermione a criminal. Though he had yet to receive the picture to be able to confirm if it was her, he knew that the name Hermione Granger was not a common name and so already felt that this was indeed his niece. What might have caused her to turn to theft? And to be labeled as Undesirable #2 meant that she must have done something grievous to earn that title.

He went to sleep that night determined to find Hermione and demand answers.

The next day, he received a copy of the photograph in his email confirming it was his niece. He returned to America and went on a mission for SHIELD, but in his spare time he continued searching for her. Weeks later a flight registered that a Hermione Granger and a Harry Potter had been booked to fly to Australia.

Immediately Clint requested for time off. He arrived in Australia two days before their flight landed, while he sent Natasha to England to follow them and assess the situation. From there they would follow them to the hotel that had been booked and finally be able to confront the two teens and demand the answers Clint needed to know.

* * *

AN: Oh My Goodness. It has been just over a year since I've been here. I want to say a quick thank you to everyone that has reviewed and followed. Those especially who have recently joined this journey, thank you. It was those of you that have reminded me about this story and pushed me to continue. I hope there won't be such a long interlude between future chapters as a yearly update seems a ridiculous schedule to follow.

There will be a bit of time though between this chapter and the next as I hope to have more written so that we may have a better update schedule set up.

If you notice any questions that may not have been addressed in the storyline line, let me know. Those comments help me to correct or include how I proceed so that there will not be any gaps. This will also be the only time that there will be a long author's note at the end as I prefer a story rather than babbling. :)

Thank you and much love,

Hope


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